


Good Girl

by nextdoorneighbors



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Ravenclaw rep, Slow Burn, Smut, Triwizard Tournament, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:15:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28683159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nextdoorneighbors/pseuds/nextdoorneighbors
Summary: On paper, Katie Clearwater is the good girl: top of her class, never had a detention, and a skilled witch. Despite this, she's best friends with Hogwarts' favorite troublemakers, Fred and George Weasley, and it's been this way since first year. But from the Quidditch World Cup to being chosen as a Triwizard Champion to a budding romance with one of her best friends, Katie's life turns upside down.
Relationships: George Weasley & Original Character(s), George Weasley/Original Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

"Bye, girls. Have fun and stay safe, okay? And tell Arthur and Molly I say hello."

"Will do, Dad."

"Bye, Dad."

I look over to my sister Penelope, a bright smile on my face. There's nothing that I love more than spending time at the Burrow. To be completely honest, I feel more at home there than I do at my own home, and it'd been that way ever since I spent the summer there after first year.

But now, it's the summer before sixth year, and for the first time, my older sister Penelope is headed to the Burrow with me, because she's been dating Percy Weasley (something that me and my best friends - the twins - absolutely love to tease them about), and because we're both attending the Quidditch World Cup later in the summer with the whole family. She was invited by Percy, of course, and it was a given that the twins would bring me.

"You go ahead," Penelope says, picking up her bag and nodding towards the fireplace, "I'll meet you there."

I pick up my own bag, grabbing a handful of floo powder in my left hand and holding the strap of my bag in my right. Penny helped me charm it to fit all my clothes for the rest of the summer (because I can't use magic outside of school for another few months), but it's still way too heavy.

"You just wanna show off to Percy how well you can Apparate," I say, slightly bitter that I still have to use the Floor Network.

"You're just jealous that you can't Apparate yet. And that you can't show off for George. Or Fred. Or whatever twin that you have a crush on."

"I don't-" I cut myself off, choosing to ignore her instead. It's true: I've had a huge crush on George for years now, but Penny doesn't need to know that. Nobody knows, actually, not even Fred. Especially not Fred, because I know that he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from George. I love the twins, and we usually always tell each other most things, but I've learned over the years that Fred can't keep his mouth shut to save his life. That's why my feelings for George have always been my biggest secret, and I'm planning on keeping it that way for a while, for several reasons.

"The Burrow!" I announce loudly, tossing the floo powder into the fireplace and stepping into the flames. Almost instantly, I'm transported to my destination, a sensation that I'm used to by this point after years of coming here. Coughing loudly amongst the smoke, I step out of the Weasley's fireplace.

"Katie! You're here!"

"Hey, Gin!" I say, dropping my bag on the floor with a thunk and pulling her into my arms. Ginny is the younger sister that I never had, and growing up with all brothers, Ginny welcomed me into the family immediately. Even with a sister of my own, Penny and I have never been very close, so I'm very thankful for Gin, especially when I need a break from the twins. And trust me, as much as I love to spend time with them, I do need the occasional break. Sometimes it's nice to be able to have "girl-talk" with Ginny, as well as Hermione, whenever she visits over the holidays.

"Fred and George haven't shut up about you coming," Ginny says, stepping back and tossing her long, fiery red hair over her shoulders, "which is why I'm surprised they weren't camped out at the fireplace waiting for you."

I snicker. "Sounds about right. Where are they, anyway?"

"Is that Clearwater I hear?"

I start at the voice, coming from the stairs, but grin when its owner rounds the corner and holds out his arms.

"Charlie! I didn't know you'd be here already!" I exclaim, running into his arms. He picks me up, spinning her around, and I giggle as I hold on to him tightly. The last time that I had seen him was right before he left for Romania, right after he graduated, so about three years ago or so. I first met him at school, because we went to school for two years together, and we got along perfectly right away. Not to mention that the fact that I had a small crush on him after meeting him, before I realized my feelings for George, of course.

But then again, who didn't have a crush on Charlie at some point? He's covered in freckles and tall like the rest of his brothers, towering over my tiny stance of five foot two. He was bloody fantastic at Quidditch, which was one of the first things that caught my eye all those years ago, and after getting to know him, I found out quickly just how big of a nerd he is. If you get him started on dragons, he'll talk your ear off for hours about them, but that's one of the things that I adore about him.

Charlie sets me down, grinning from ear to ear as he looks at me. I can't help but blush a little, because after all, I still find him incredibly attractive.

"Yeah, I got here a few days ago. I knew exactly when you'd be here, though, 'cause like Gin said-" He flashes a smile over my shoulder at his sister, "-you've been all the twins have been talking about. I think they're up in their room though, working on whatever they've been working on. I've never seen those two sit still for so long until this summer."

I smile, knowing exactly what he's referring to. "Oh, yeah, that would be the products for their joke shop that they're looking to start after we leave school. They've really got some genius ideas."

"Oh, Katie! I thought I heard your voice. How are you, dear? Did Penelope come with you?" Mrs. Weasley walks into the room, followed by Mr. Weasley, warm smiles on both of their faces. Right away, I walk into Mrs. Weasley's arms, hugging her tightly. Mrs. Weasley is the mom I never got to have, considering my mom left us years ago for unknown reasons. At least, my dad never told us. I never got to know her, so Mrs. Weasley stepped into that spot for me.

"Penelope? Is she here?"

Percy follows his parents into the room, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, looking around eagerly upon hearing Penny's name. I can't help but smile at his enthusiasm, but then again, who would I be if I didn't tease him about it?

I scoff playfully as I pull away from Mrs. Weasley.

"It's good to see you, too, Perce."

Percy gives me an exasperated look - one that isn't uncommon to see from him. I know he loves me, though.

"Who woulda thought?" Charlie muses, lowering himself into a chair, "Percy and Penelope Clearwater. If there was gonna be a Clearwater and Weasley relationship, I always had my bets on Katie and one of the twins."

I feel myself blush fiercely at that as Charlie winks at me. Ginny grins and perches on the armrest of the chair, leaning down and whispering something to Charlie. I can't help but wonder what she's saying, but my attention quickly turns elsewhere as there's a knock at the door. Percy practically flies across the room, opening it to reveal Penelope, who smiles and turns red at the sight of him, which the twins would have way too much fun with if they were down here. Penny tucks a lock of her long, straight, blonde hair behind her ear as she steps into the house.

"Didja get lost?" I tease her, and from somewhere above me, I hear two sets of pounding footsteps, and I know in a heartbeat who they belong to.

As Penelope begins to greet everyone in the room, Fred and George come barreling through the doorway, and before I can even truly process what's going on, I find myself being tackled to the floor, my head hitting the ground as one of them rests all their weight on me, completely knocking the breath out of me.

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley exclaims, "Don't hurt her!"

Fred completely ignores her as he hugs me on the floor, his muffled voice saying something along the lines of that they've been waiting forever-

"C'mon, Fred, you gotta share," George laughs from above, attempting to push Fred off of me with his foot. I feel my cheeks heating up at his words, and laugh myself as I finally manage to push Fred off and onto to the floor next to me.

"You two idiots are pretty much the last to know that I'm here," I say, standing up and hugging George, wrapping my arms around his torso. I rest my head against his chest, feeling his pounding heartbeat against my ear. He's warm, and I breathe in his familiar, comforting scent as he wraps his arms around my shoulders, squeezing me tightly against him. George's hugs have always felt like home; there's no better way to explain them.

"Besides Ron. Where's Ron?" I add.

"Not sure. Probably sulking over something or other in his room," Ginny replies.

"Most likely. He's been hormonal lately," Charlie adds.

I grin. I'll talk to him later and see what's up. After all, me and Ron have always been pretty close, despite how much the twins pick on him. If anything, the amount that they pick on him makes me more protective over him. Anything that Ron has ever told me in private, I've always kept to myself, especially when Ron admitted to me years ago that he feels overshadowed by all of his older brothers. Since then, I always consciously tries to put aside time for him or include him in things that I do with the twins and Ginny.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley says, looking around, "we're going to be having a very full house this summer. Katie, Penelope, you'll be staying in Ginny's room, and I do believe that Hermione is joining us a bit later in the month, so she'll be staying with you girls, too. Bill will be here next week, so he'll get his old room, and then Harry will be here next month, and he'll be with Ron, of course."

"You know what that means?" Fred says from his spot on the floor.

Mrs. Weasley gives him a warning look. "No pranking, Fred." She shifts her gaze to George. "Or you, George."

Fred returns with a mock offended look on his face. "We would never, Mother."

"Do you really think so little of us?" George adds dramatically, to which I giggle and Mrs. Weasley sighs.

"I was talking about Quidditch. With everyone here, we can finally have something close to a proper game," Fred points out, pushing himself off the floor and standing to my right. Quidditch at the Burrow is one of my favorite traditions, even though someone always ends up bloody or bruised, and it's usually always me. And with all the Weasleys in one place? That's a game I wouldn't miss for the world.

"Absolutely," Charlie agrees, "I want to see Harry Potter in action, after all I've heard about him."

"He's quite fantastic, actually" Ginny says. At that, Fred puckers up his lips and makes kissy noises at her, but Ginny just gives him the middle finger when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley aren't looking.

I glance around the living room and realize that at some point, Penelope and Percy snuck away, and are no doubt snogging somewhere while the rest of the family is distracted. I lean against George as I watch Fred, Charlie, and Ginny start to argue about who's the best at Quidditch, and think about the upcoming summer.

With all seven Weasleys in one house, plus the mixture of me, Penelope, Harry, and Hermione, this summer is going to be one of the most chaotic summers that I've ever experienced, but I wouldn't want it any other way.


	2. Chapter 2

The first week went by smoothly. As smoothly as a week in the Weasley household could go, that is, and that wasn't without a handful of pranks with the twins, getting yelled at by Mrs. Weasley, teasing Penelope and Percy, and staying up until three in the morning every night. But that's what summer's all about, right?

Of course, there was also the constant, subtle flirting with George. I know that Fred suspects something, but if he wants to talk about it with me, I'm going to let him approach the subject first.

And why I'm so scared to make the first move, I'm not totally sure. After all, it's not like I'm not confident in myself. Between my intelligence, my skill in Quidditch as Ravenclaw's Keeper and Team Captain, my curly blonde hair and bright green eyes, I know that boys are interested in me. But something about George - despite him being my best friend - makes me nervous. I think it's _because_ he's my best friend.

I sit at the kitchen table, sipping my coffee. I set down the mug - a chipped forest green mug that I've claimed over the years - on the table, leaning back in my seat as I wait for someone else to wake up and join me, which isn't an unusual occurrence. I've always been the earliest riser, Ginny the latest, and everyone else somewhere in between.

I sit up in my seat, wrapping my hands around the steaming mug as I hear footsteps making their way down the stairs. The heaviness of the footsteps sounds like one of the twins, and sure enough, George rounds the corner. As he does, my heart nearly stops in my chest.

He's shirtless: his toned, freckled chest on display, as well as his biceps, which are muscular from his years of playing as one of Gryffindor's Beaters. His long hair, which stops at his shoulders, is messy and sticking up in places. I let my eyes travel down to his sweatpants, which hang low on his hips. In other words, he looks _hot_ , and I feel myself blushing at the sight of him.

"Hey," he says, his voice low and groggy from sleeping. He smiles crookedly. "I shoulda figured you'd be up already. I just came down for some water, but would you like some company?"

I return his smile, my heart fluttering. "I would love your company, but you can go back to sleep if you want. It's still early. I'm not gonna make you hang out with me. We have the whole summer for that."

George passes me to grab a glass from one of the cupboards, filling it up with water from the sink. I watch him, gazing at the muscles in his back and shoulders. He looks over his shoulder at me, setting his glass down and running his fingers through his hair as he leans back against the counter. I struggle to hold eye contact with him, distracted by the rest of his appearance.

"I know we have the whole summer. That doesn't mean I'm not gonna make every minute count." He takes a sip from his water. "Plus, you know I love Fred, but it's nice to get you alone every once in a while." After he finishes his sentence, he starts to blush, much to my amusement, but I'm sure that I'm blushing, too. 

And I can't help but think about what I would do to him if I knew that he returned my feelings and we got to be alone.

"Trust me, I know what you mean," is what I decide to say, sipping my coffee, just as loud, heavy footsteps make their way down the stairs.

"Who says you two are allowed to hang out without me?" Fred says as he swings around the corner. He's dressed similarly to his twin: shirtless and in sweats. Of course, he's extremely attractive as well, but the sight of him doesn't affect me the way George does.

"We were just talking about how great it is, hanging out without you," George replies without missing a beat. I turn around to look at him, giggling, and he winks at me. Fred flips off both of them, sitting next to me at the table and leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Piss off, both of you," he says, but a hint of a smile plays on his lips.

"So, Bill's coming today?" I ask, changing the subject as I glance between the twins.

Due to Bill being about seven years older than us, I had only met him a few times before he moved off to Egypt for work, but I loved him the minute I met him. My first impression of him was that he was - for lack of better word - _cool_. He walked with confidence, and despite me just being his little brothers' friend, he always asked me how school was going and questions about whatever I told him. Not to mention the fact that he was pretty much everything I've aimed for in school: he was top of his class, Head Boy, a great wizard, and well liked by everyone.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

"Don't get too excited there, K. He's too old for you," Fred teases.

I roll my eyes, but blush slightly. It's not _my_ fault that the Weasleys happen to be a very attractive family.

I glance back over at George, whose expression is unreadable, but if I have to guess, he looks slightly irritated as he takes a long, slow sip from his glass, his eyes on Fred. What's that about?

"I'm not into _Bill_ ," I insist.

"Katie's got a crush on Bill?"

I groan loudly as Charlie walks into the kitchen, a mischievous grin on his face. He always has the worst timing.

" _No_ ," I say, at the same time that Fred answers, "Yes, she does."

Charlie leans against the doorway, looking past us at the table to George, who's still leaning back against the counter.

"George?" he says, as if asking George to be the tiebreaker. I turn to look over at him again, and notice he's still wearing the same expression as before. Normally, he always joins in on the playful banter between me and Fred, so it's weird that he's so quiet.

George just shrugs, setting his empty glass in the sink and making his way around the table and towards the stairs. "I don't know. I'm going to get dressed," he grumbles as he leaves.

Charlie turns slowly to look back at Fred and I, his eyebrows raised.

"Who pissed in his cereal?"

I exchange a look with Fred and shrug. "He was fine until _you_ got down here," I say, pointedly.

Fred sighs dramatically and pushes himself up from the table. "I'll go talk to him."

Once he's gone, Charlie walks over and sits across from me, smirking.

"Which one is it _actually_?" he asks.

I know exactly what he means, but decide to play dumb. I do know that I can trust Charlie, but something about admitting my feelings for George out loud for the first time makes me hesitate to say anything.

"I'm sorry?" I reply, and Charlie simply gives me a _I know you know what I mean, don't play dumb_ look.

" _Fine_ ," I say, lowering my voice and leaning across the table towards Charlie before admitting, "George."

"I knew it!" Charlie exclaims, way too loudly, and I shush him, waving my hands.

"Shut up! He can't _know,_ " I hiss.

Charlie smiles, clearly proud of himself for having figured it out earlier, but I have no idea how. After all, I was only thirteen when I saw Charlie last, and that was before _I_ even realized my feelings for George. And now, they've only been around each other for a week. Is it really that obvious that he could figure it out in a week? I _have_ been flirty with George, but I mean, sometimes I'm flirty with Fred, too. It's just how our friendship works.

"Why not? You wanna be with him, don't you? You're not gonna accomplish that if you keep it a secret," Charlie points out, and while I know that he's right, I would never admit it and give him the satisfaction.

"Because we're best friends. If I were to tell him, and he were to reject me-"

"Woah, woah, woah. Stop right there," Charlie interrupts, laying his hands flat on the table, "First of all, George and I have never been super close, but it's so _obvious_. That kid's head over heels for you, Katie."

My heart somersaults at the thought, but, I still have my doubts.

"And second of all," Charlie continues, "you said it yourself. You're his best friend, besides Fred. And I know you think you'd ruin that if you told him how you feel and he didn't feel the same way, but it wouldn't. He loves you too much for something to ever ruin your friendship. _But_ , like I said, he feels the same way. I know he does."

I push aside my coffee, which is probably now too cold for me to really enjoy, and prop my elbows up on the table, resting my chin on my hands. He has some good points, but the fear of rejection from the one and only person that I've truly wanted for years is too much. 

"I don't know," is all I murmur, just as I hear several people coming down the stairs.

In come the twins, George looking significantly more cheery than he did when left the room earlier, followed by their parents.

"Good morning, you two," Mr. Weasley greets us with a smile. I return the greeting, smiling brightly. Mr. Weasley is a second father to me, but since he works during the week, I never get to see him really except for weekends, like today. As a pureblood, I've always been interested in hearing about the new things about Muggles that he learns through his job, and sometimes he'll sneak little Muggle objects to me, like pens. I find them fascinating, and the twins always tease me about it, but I could care less. They're quite efficient, much more so than quills.

"Is Bill here yet?" Mrs. Weasley asks.

"No, not yet. Didn't he say he'd be in this morning?" Charlie asks, but the response comes from the next room:

"That he did."

Bill enters the room, a duffle bag hanging over his shoulder. I feel my eyes widen slightly at the sight of him. He looks different than the last time I saw him: his signature red hair is now long, tied back into a low ponytail, which reveals a fang earring dangling from one of his ears.

"Bill, sweetheart, we didn't even hear you come in!" Mrs. Weasley exclaims, pulling him into a tight hug. "But oh, what on Earth happened to your hair? And this!" She pulls back, touching his earring lightly with her fingertips.

Bill laughs lowly. "Just didn't cut it for a while, I guess, but I like it long now. You don't like my earring?" He hugs his dad next before turning to me, Charlie, and the twins. He sits next to Charlie, ruffling his younger brother's hair and making it stick up.

"Hey, Clearwater. It's been a while." He smiles gently at me.

"Too long," I say, blushing slightly, and I hope that nobody notices. "But my sister's here, too, so you'll have to start calling me by my first name," I tease.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot Mom told me that Percy's dating her. What do you think of that?"

As I talk to Bill, George and Fred take the seats on either side of me. George's knee bumps against mine under the table, but I don't move mine away.

"I mean, honestly, it's fun to tease them about it, but I do think they mesh well together," I admit, to which Bill nods thoughtfully.

"Why, because they're both annoying?" Fred says under his breath, but clearly not quiet enough, because Mrs. Weasley's head snaps in his direction.

" _Fred_ ," she warns.

"Yes, I know, don't make fun of Percy or the guests, I know," Fred says, standing up, "But I'm about to go wake them and Ron and Ginny up so we can get started on a game of Quidditch. Bill, Charlie, you in?"

"Only if I get Katie on my team," Charlie says.

"I second that," George adds, and I smile over at him. He smiles back, nudging me with his knee, this time on purpose.

"So, me, Charlie, George, and Ginny? Sounds good to me," I say, and Fred, who still hadn't left the room yet, reacts exactly how I was expecting.

" _Absolutely_ not. You are _not_ leaving me and Bill with Ron and Percy."

"Will Percy even play?" Bill questions.

"He has in the past, after a lot of convincing from me," I say, "So if I get Penny to convince him to, I'm sure he will."

Sure, Percy is honestly quite bad at Quidditch, but we usually need him to even out the teams, and I pride myself in being able to persuade him to eventually join in on whatever me and the rest of the Weasleys are doing, whether that's Quidditch or some other game. We usually just put him in as a Chaser and keep him out of the way most of the game, especially after the one time he tried being a Beater and accidentally knocked Ron out with the bat. Let's just say that we were banned from Quidditch for the rest of that summer.

Ron, on the other hand, is okay at Quidditch. He has an interest in being Keeper, which I love, of course, being a Keeper myself. In past games at the Burrow, I've always tried to offer little tips and tricks to improve, and he's always tried his best.

Once everyone is awake and downstairs, after breakfast and saying their hello's to Bill, we begin to split into teams - which, per usual, is followed by a lot of arguing, mostly between me and Fred. As much as I love him, we do butt heads a lot, and Quidditch is no exception.

Finally, we settle on me, George, Percy, and Bill versus Fred, Ginny, Ron, and Charlie. Charlie had grudgingly agreed to play against me, even though, after watching me in Quidditch for two years, he knows I hardly ever let a Quaffle pass me.

Being slightly short on players, we split the teams up into one Keeper, one Beater, and two Chasers.

"Alright," Penelope says, mimicking Madam Hooch, stepping between the two sides. She had agreed to referee the game, although I know that she barely knows the basic rules. That's another thing that her and Percy have in common. "I expect a nice, clean match-"

"Yeah, we'll see about that," George interrupts, holding his bat over his shoulder and narrowing his eyes at his siblings on the opposing team.

I laugh quietly. I've always adored watching George play Quidditch. He's always been the quieter twin in his daily life, letting Fred take the lead on almost everything, but Quidditch is definitely where he shines through. As much as I hate to admit it, it's often distracted me during matches, watching him hit Bludgers as hard as he can, smirking proudly when he gets a successful hit, or swearing under his breath when he doesn't. He always ends the game sweaty, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, his mood completely dependent on whether he won or lost the game. Either way, I love to see it.

"Get in your positions," Penny yells at us, and once we do, she says, "and... start!"


	3. Chapter 3

I watch from my position at the goal post as Bill holds the Quaffle, making his way towards Ron, who's nervously guarding his team's goal post. Fred hits a Bludger towards Bill, but Bill narrowly misses it, causing Fred to swear loudly.

I can't help but smile at the scene before me. These are the best kinds of days, playing Quidditch with my second family as the sun shines over head. I do wish that Harry and Hermione were here, too, but they'll be here soon enough.

"You're supposed to _catch_ the Quaffle, Percy-" George is yelling at the other end of the field, but I can't focus on him now. Charlie has the Quaffle, flying low and fast on his broom towards me, while George is distracted. He has a hard, determined look on his face, and I position myself to be ready for his shot.

"Devilishly handsome Charlie Weasley makes his way down the pitch," Charlie narrates as he closes in on me, to which I laugh and shake my head at him, "Is Katie Clearwater ready for this shot? I don't think she is!"

Charlie throws the Quaffle to my left, so that if it goes through, it'll go through the very edge of the ring. I have to dive for it, just barely catching it with my fingertips, making for a successful, brag-worthy block.

"How do you-" I start to say to Charlie, holding the Quaffle proudly as George whoops for me from the other side of the field, but I'm cut off by the all too familiar feeling of a hard metal smashing into my shoulder. It throws me off my broom, and there's a moment of panic that sets in as I fall, until finally, I hit the ground, bracing against the impact with my other shoulder.

I hear shouts from above and feel footsteps thundering towards me as I lay on the ground, too in pain to move, both from the Bludger attack and from the fall. I squeeze my eyes shut as pain shoots through either side of me, both shoulders throbbing almost unbearably. It's definitely not the worst injury I've gotten from Quidditch, but it still hurts like a bitch.

"What the bloody hell was that about? She'd already blocked the shot!" I hear Ron yell in the distance as I manage to roll onto my back, opening my eyes and staring up at the clear blue sky.

"It went to her later than I thought it would, you _git_ -" Fred starts yelling back at him.

I try my best to just tune out the sound of them arguing, which becomes much easier when George comes into view, kneeling down next to me. He reaches over to brush my hair out of my face gently, his worry clear on his face. Despite my pain, my stomach erupts in butterflies.

"You okay? That was a hard fall. Let's get you inside, Mum will know how to help with the pain," he says, not even waiting for me to reply before sliding his arms under me and picking me up, holding me bridal-style.

"Georgie," I murmur, resting my head against his chest, his heartbeat pounding against my ear, "My legs still work fine." Though really, I'm not complaining at all.

"I know," he replies simply, carrying me towards the house, and I can't help but smile.

"Katie, Katie, Katie," Fred calls. I hear his footsteps as he catches up to us. He breathes heavily as he follows us into the house. "I'm sorry, really-"

"It's alright, Fred," I say, "You know I've dealt with worse." I suck in a breath through clenched teeth as my shoulder presses against George's chest, making it ache even worse. It doesn't feel like a break, thankfully, but I already know that I'm going to be bruised terribly.

As soon as George steps through the front door, Mrs. Weasley springs into action.

"Here, Georgie, lay her down on the couch. Poor dear, what happened?"

After laying me down on the couch, George kneels on the floor next to it, taking my hand and gently rubbing his thumb over the back of it. My heart does a backflip, and I think that I forget how to talk for a moment, so thankfully, Fred answers for me.

"I, uh, accidentally hit her with a Bludger and knocked her off her broom," he murmurs sheepishly, his voice barely audible.

Mrs. Weasley shakes her head at her son. "You boys _must_ start being more careful! I'm telling you, Quidditch is _far_ too dangerous for you to be playing without the proper equipment, and it's always poor Katie who gets the worst of it!"

"It was an accident, Mrs. Weasley, it's okay," I pipe up, wincing as I try to shift myself into a sitting position. George immediately reaches out, resting his hand on my back to help and getting up off the floor to sit next to me, taking my hand in his again.

"Is she okay? Are you okay?" Penelope asks, rushing into the room, followed by Percy and the rest of the Weasleys.

"I still have to look at the injuries. Where does it hurt, dear?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Penny," I tell my sister, before turning to Mrs. Weasley. "My shoulders and arms. Fred hit me on the left and I fell on my right," I explain.

"Alright. Well, you're going to have to take off your shirt, so I can get a full look," Mrs. Weasley says, apologetically. I noticeably wince at the thought of having to lift my arms to remove my shirt, but when Mrs. Weasley sees my expression, she smiles gently. "I can cut it off," she says, taking her wand out of her apron pocket, "if that would be easier for you."

She then turns towards the roomful of her children. "Everyone go busy yourselves until we're done," she orders. Ginny leads the way out of the room, and I hear everyone heading upstairs, talking amongst themselves.

George lets go of my hand, getting up off the couch and looking down at me, offering me a small smile before heading after everyone else. While part of me wishes he would stay, the other part wants him to be able to see me shirtless in a very different scenario.

" _Diffindo_ ," Mrs. Weasley says once the room is cleared, and the front of my shirt splits open. She helps me slide it off, over what I see now to be my deeply bruised skin. And I know that it's not even at its worst yet. Mrs. Weasley presses her fingertips gently against my shoulders, inspecting my injuries as carefully as possible.

"Well, you got lucky with only these bruises. I can fix you up something for the pain, but we'll just have to wait for the bruising to fade. Until then, no Quidditch, alright?" She gazes at me with a stern look, and I know better than to argue with her.

I grab my shirt and manage to shrug it back on. Mrs. Weasley performs a quick spell to mend the material, so that it appears as if it was never cut, before heading off to the kitchen to make a potion for my pain.

"Are you dressed?" comes a hushed voice from behind me.

"Not that we care if you are or not," comes a second.

I roll my eyes and grin before turning around to see George and Fred, peering around the corner from the stairs.

"Yes, George, I am dressed, thank you for asking. And Fred, piss off," I laugh. They mirror my grin as they come into the room, coming to sit on either side of me.

"Is it bad?" Fred pokes my arm, where some of the bruises are, though my sleeves are covering the worst of it.

"Nothing I can't handle," I reply, carefully leaning back and looking at George, who I exchange a smile with as Mrs. Weasley comes back into the room, holding a goblet of potion.

"Here you are, dear. This'll take the pain right away."

I take the goblet from her, smelling the light, sweet liquid before taking a sip. Already, the aching in my shoulder dulls. I smile up at her.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley, this is great."

She then turns her gaze to the twins, looking between them with a familiar, stern expression on her face, placing her hands on her hips.

"Now, boys, I already told Katie this, but no Quidditch for her until she heals completely, understood?"

Fred and George both groan loudly, much to my amusement.

"But, _Mum_ -"

"She's our only good Keeper!"

Mrs. Weasley tuts, cutting both boys off. I sit quietly between them, sipping my potion.

"No Quidditch until she heals. That's final. Now, run along, I'll call you when lunch is ready."

As soon as she leaves the room again, Fred turns to me and shakes his head in mock disappointment.

"Why'd you have to go and get yourself hurt, Clearwater?"

"Shut _up_ , Weasley," I laugh, nudging his knee with mine. I tilt my head back and drain the rest of the goblet, my pain completely subsided. I look over at George, who purses his lips tightly and returns my gaze, the same weird look on his face that he had this morning.

"Wanna go see what everyone's up to upstairs?" he suggests.

"Sure," I say, not feeling that it's the right moment to question what's up with him, no matter how much I want to. I can't help but notice, though, that he and Fred exchange a look over my head as the three of us get up off the couch, clearly having some sort of nonverbal conversation.

 _Boys_.

We make a stop in the kitchen to drop off the goblet in the sink before heading upstairs, following the sound of laughter, which leads us to Charlie's room. Charlie is sitting on the floor, leaning back against his bed, which Bill is sitting on, leaning back against the headboard with his hands behind his head and a wide grin on his face, and I hope my blush isn't noticeable at the sight.

Ron is sitting backwards in the desk chair, slowly spinning, while Ginny sits crosslegged on the bed with Bill. Penelope and Percy are nowhere to be seen, but that's to be expected. There's plenty of more opportunities to force them to hang out with the rest of us.

"She's alive!" Charlie cheers upon our entrance. I dramatically bow in the doorway before sitting on the floor myself, next to Charlie. Fred sits down next to me, and George next to him.

"So, we still have the rest of the day, since our previous plans were ruined by _someone_ ," Bill says, playfully narrowing his eyes at Fred, who makes a noise of protest, " _But_ , I was thinking, how 'bout a bonfire tonight? We can grab all that wood from the backyard and make a huge fire."

"Only if we can make s'mores, too," Ron adds, still spinning in the chair.

"Oh, absolutely. _And_..." Charlie says, pushing himself up off the floor and walking over to a suitcase that's laying by Ron's chairs. He bends over and unzips it, rummaging around until he finds whatever he's looking for. He straightens up, turning back to us and smiling proudly, his hair falling in his eyes as he holds up two big bottles of Firewhiskey.

"I brought the good stuff," he finishes.

" _Wicked_ ," the twins say simultaneously, and I bite back a smile. The twins plus alcohol is an... _interesting_ combination, to say the least.

But, as always, I can't wait to see how things go.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the day passes slowly as we all eagerly await the night to come so that we can start our bonfire. Of course, it doesn't pass without everyone poking fun at Fred for knocking me off my broom at least a few times, to which he just pouts and insists that it was an accident.

George, on the other hand, tries to act as my nurse all day, despite me telling him that I'm fine, which is true. I look worse than I feel, especially after Mrs. Weasley's miracle-working potion that took away all my pain. I honestly don't mind, though, because I like the attention from him. What I _don't_ like is Charlie winking at me from across the room every time George even looks in my direction. I'm starting to regret telling him anything.

Finally, after we all help finish cleaning up after dinner, the sun begins to set.

"We should start setting up while there's still some light," Bill says, as we all sit in the living room. He looks directly at me from across the room as he begins standing up from his seat. "Katie, wanna help me start grabbing wood from the back?"

"Of course," I say, pushing myself off the couch, but George immediately grabs my waist from next to me and practically pulls me back down, standing up himself instead.

"She's hurt, remember?" he says, a little too quickly, "I'll help instead."

"George, I told you, I'm fine." I say firmly, standing up next to him and looking between him and Bill. "All three of us can go."

"Don't forget me!" Fred stands up from my other side, grinning widely despite the obvious tension in the room.

Bill looks between the three of us and shrugs. "Okay. Let's go."

We head outside and around to the back of the house, where there's plenty of old wood from all of the trees. The little forest area is still one of my favorite parts about staying at the Burrow, mostly because of all of the memories that I associate with it. Fred, George, and I used to climb some of the smaller trees, and we'd even race to see who could get the highest. But, of course, in typical us fashion, we were banned from doing so anymore after Ron tried to join us and Fred accidentally pushed him out of the tree. Thankfully, Ron wasn't hurt that badly, but Mrs. Weasley was still furious with us.

That also happened to be the same summer that we stole the Ford Anglia to go rescue Harry, but that's a whole story in itself.

There's a somewhat awkward silence as we start picking up logs to bring around to the front. I'm not able to carry as many as the boys are at once, but I still make a decent dent in the pile. After a few trips back and forth, George and Fred are in the front, while Bill and I are alone in the back. I watch as he picks up a large log with ease, holding it on his shoulder.

"Alright, Clearwater?" he asks when he notices me watching.

"Alright," I reply, grabbing a significantly smaller log and clutching it against my chest, being careful not to bump it against my still-tender bruises. Maybe George had a point in not wanting me to help, but I'd never admit that, especially to him. Plus, I can't help but feel like there was something more to his eagerness to take my place.

Bill offers me a smile as we start walking back up to the front, and we run into Fred and George by the side of the house, who are laughing loudly about something.

"I think we're good for now," Bill says, "We can always grab some more later, if we need to."

Fred salutes him. "Aye, aye, Captain."

I grin and roll my eyes, shaking my head at George, whose eyes flit to Bill momentarily before meeting mine again. He smiles gently at me, holding out his arms.

"I can take that," he offers softly as Bill and Fred start back towards the front.

I sigh dramatically and decide to just give in, handing off the log. He takes it from me, our hands brushing. He then lifts it up on to his shoulder to carry it, just like Bill did, his bicep flexing as he does. He glances at me over his other shoulder and grins before walking off towards the front, too, after his brothers.

I just wish that I knew what he's thinking. It would make things so much easier.

Once I get back to the front, everyone else is outside, too, helping set up. Percy and Fred are arguing about the best way to arrange the wood while Penelope looks back and forth between them, clearly amused. We make eye contact and she smiles at me, shaking her head as if to say: _Idiots_.

I go to stand next to Ron, who's off to the side, watching as Bill, Charlie, Ginny, and George _actually_ work on setting up the wood, while Percy and Fred fling insults at each other.

"What's on your mind, Ron?" I ask.

"I just wish Hermione and Harry were here, that's all," he mumbles, "I mean, Hermione's probably alright, but I reckon Harry's miserable at his aunt and uncle's, while we're all having fun..."

I wrap an arm around his waist and lean into him, giving him a side hug. He returns it, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He hit a crazy growth spurt in the last year, shooting up so that I have to crane my neck to look up at him now, just like I have to do with the rest of the Weasleys. Despite that, he'll always be my little brother.

"I know, but we'll get him soon enough." I pause for a moment to watch as Fred and Percy finally seem to realize that their argument is completely useless, considering the wood pile is practically completely built already. "You're a good friend, Ron, you know that?"

He hesitates before letting go of me and looking over, smiling somewhat embarrassedly. Behind him, the sun is almost completely set, the sky growing darker and darker by the minute.

"Thanks, Katie," he says, almost shyly.

I look back over to the pile of wood, which Bill is now pointing his wand at, while everyone else stands away, watching as he lights it on fire. Fred and George whoop as the flame grows, but Bill stops it at a reasonable size, and they boo. Ron and I step closer, joining the group.

"I'm going to head inside," Charlie says, glancing around, "and grab the stuff." He winks at me before turning towards the house. I watch as Penelope and Percy exchange a confused look, and I remember that they weren't in the room earlier when Charlie showed off his stash of alcohol.

I round the fire to where Fred and George are now sitting. They had set up some makeshift benches out of the longer logs. The twins are side by side, and they're just enough room for me on their bench if they each move to the side. I stand in front of them, looking down at them expectantly, their faces illuminated by the glow of the fire.

"You're not going to make room for me?" I tease.

"There's plenty of room right here, K," Fred says, patting his lap.

"In your dreams," I laugh, "Scoot over, Weasley."

They both do, making just enough room for me to sit in the middle of them. I bump George's knee with my own, looking over and smiling at him.

"You reckon we'll be able to get away with drinking with your mum and dad home?" I say quietly, just to George, as Fred laughs loudly at something Bill said, who's sitting on the log closest to him.

George smirks, and bloody hell, does he look hot doing it.

"They're bound to be going to bed sometime soon, and then we should be fine. As long as _you_ -" He places his hand on my knee, squeezing it, "-can handle yourself, which doesn't seem likely."

"Hey!" I exclaim, and he laughs, but I'm way too focused on the fact that his hand is still on my knee. "I'm not _that_ bad," I insist, grinning over at him, "after all, how many times, George, have I had to steer your ass to bed after you puked your guts out?"

George pulls his hand away, much to my disappointment, to cross his arms and shrug, a look of mock innocence on his face.

"You're _clearly_ remembering wrong. That was Fred, not me."

I laugh and lean into him. "Oh, _right_ , of course."

I stay leaned against him, hesitantly resting my head on his shoulder. I feel him relax against me, and I also feel weight on my right side as Fred decides to lean his entire body weight on me.

"Get out of here, Fred," I groan, sitting up as best as I can, attempting to push him off of him.

"You two were having too much fun without me," he practically whines, sitting up and looking over between George and I. I look over at George myself, who, surprisingly, looks actually annoyed, which isn't a common occurrence between the twins. They tease each other all the time, of course, just like they do with me, but very rarely - if ever - do they cross any lines with each other. I've never met two people more on the same page constantly than Fred and George.

George stays silent, turning away to look at the fire, and I glance back to Fred, whose expression has dropped. He looks at me, and I just shrug, not sure what to say.

Thankfully, Charlie comes back outside at that moment, saving me from having to say or do anything to ease the newfound tension between the twins. He's wearing a jacket that he wasn't wearing earlier, and there's no doubt in my mind that he's hiding the bottles of fire whiskey in it, but before he can say anything, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley follow him outside.

"We're going to head off to bed," Mr. Weasley says, looking around at us and smiling, "but wow, look at the size of that bonfire! Have fun, you all!"

There's a murmur of "Thanks, Dad" from all the Weasleys, before Mrs. Weasley steps in.

"Don't be _too_ late, now, and do not play with the fire, understood? I don't need any of you getting burned, not after we've already had one injury this summer." She shoots a stern look in the direction of the twins and I, so I smile sweetly at her.

"Don't worry, Mum, I'll keep them in check," Bill says, winking at me. I grin back, knowing that if she has Bill's word, as her oldest and seemingly most well-behaved child, she'll be fine.

"Thank you, Bill. Goodnight, everyone!"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley head back into the house, and the minute that we're sure that they're gone, Charlie pulls the bottles of fire whiskey out of his jacket, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Who's ready to have some fun?" he says, walking over to sit next to Bill. On the other side of them and across the fire from the twins and I are Penelope and Percy, the latter having a somewhat horrified expression on his face, which was to be expected.

"Really?" he asks, rather judgmentally, and Charlie just snorts as he opens one of the bottles. Ginny and Ron are watching the exchange from a log across the fire from Charlie and Bill, and they're both clearly trying to hold back grins.

"Fear not, Percy, I'm not giving any to those who aren't of age. Except for those three, because they're close enough." He tilts his head towards the twins and I with a smirk before taking a swig from the bottle he opened.

Percy looks at me across the fire with that familiar exasperated expression on his face, and I just smile at him. He rolls his eyes, but I can tell that he's trying not to smile back. Penny is just openly laughing, leaning against Percy, resting her chin on his shoulder. Their hands are in Percy's lap, tightly interlocked, and I can't help but ache for that with George.

Charlie passes around the bottle, announcing that we should play a game, specifically, truth or dare. Bill shakes his head at his younger brother.

"What are you, sixteen?" he teases.

"No," Charlie retorts, "but the general population is around that, so it seems fit." The bottle gets back to him, so he takes another, long drink from it before looking pointedly at me, as if he's expecting me to agree with him.

"Agreed," I say, and Charlie holds out his hand towards me while looking at Bill, as if to say, _see?_

Bill grabs the bottle out of Charlie's hand, laughing to himself before taking another swig.

"Well, I'm not starting."

"I will!" Ginny pipes up, gazing around the circle with her eyes slightly narrowed as she carefully chooses her victim. I sneak a glance at George, whose expression I can't read.

"Penelope," Ginny says, slowly, "Truth or dare?"

"Um, truth," Penny replies, and I cup my hands around my mouth to yell over at her, "Boring!"

Penny rolls her eyes at me before looking back at Ginny, awaiting her question patiently.

"Hmm, okay. How did Percy ask you out?"

Penny grins, and Fred groans quietly. "Let me get my barf bag ready," he mutters, so that only I can hear.

Penny dives right into the story, which I've heard before. It goes along the lines of: they started out by just doing homework together, which went on for _months_ , until finally Percy got the balls to ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him. After that, it took them another month or so to actually admit their feelings for one another, and they've been together since, so about a year and half total. It's actually kind of cute, but I'd never admit that.

After that, it's Penny's turn to ask, and I already know who she's going to pick before she even starts her sentence.

"Katie, truth or dare?" she asks, a suspicious-looking smirk on her face.

"Dare, obviously," I reply.

"I figured." Her eyes flit from me to George, back to me, and then to Fred.

"I dare you to kiss Fred."


End file.
